Rolling with the Punches

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Emerson's works remain relevant today, thanks to the authority of the great American author of the mid-19th century, who, as historian Richard Whelan asserts, was the youngest graduate of the Ivy League school at Harvard. To suggest that the influential writer and author has an enduring impact on those who follow his writings is an understatement.

According to Richard Whelan, who summarized Ralph Waldo Emerson's essays in his book titled Self-Reliance, in the opinion of the fervent lecturer of nearly a century and a half ago, when you see a man in isolation, alone and in solitude, being true to himself, you can trust that he is sincere however, hypocrisy often emerges when you add another person to the situation (Whelan, 1991, p. 114).

Emerson's writings suggest that most men only reveal a part of themselves, showing you their side or their back, but if you encounter someone willing to display their true face and heart, consider them a rare gem and friend. Lastly, Emerson emphasizes that hospitality should be about genuine service, rather than a showy approach, as the latter diminishes the host's value (Whelan, 1991, p. 131).

Be Authentic

How does Emerson speak to those in leadership? How do solitude, honesty, and hospitality impact organizational influence? It is about being authentic, and resilience is needed to keep it afloat because adverse situations in leaders' roles and positions impact them for better or worse. Consider how healthcare leaders describe one way to be authentic at work, as defined by Wei et al. (2019). Nurse leaders who engage with staff operate in the middle zone of daily work. These leaders engage with staff, strike a healthy balance between office work and patient care, and operate in the space between employee and leader. When authentic leaders lead by example, they bridge the gap between their leadership role and a role up their sleeves mentality to support their team. That is what operating as a leader looks like in the space between the office desk and the patient's room.

Practice Resilience

Before the pandemic, isolation may have been a direct choice; however, when mandated social and physical distancing was implemented, being alone, separated, and disengaged were new experiences for all, especially in the helping professions. Doctors, nurses, and all allied health professionals were challenged to protect themselves, patients, and loved ones from the effects of the coronavirus. According to Barthelemy et al. (2021), all personnel worked in a once-in-a-lifetime situation during the peak of the patient surge, requiring exceptional physical and psychological endurance from physicians, such as neurosurgeons. This was true for all healthcare professionals regardless of their specialty.

Although today, the gap between peak hospital surges and normal departmental census has decreased because of attenuated positivity rates, there are still pandemic stressors, such as those experienced during the days and months of the surge, such as depressed mood, anxiousness, irritability, and abnormal sleep patterns endured by all members of the healthcare team (Barthelemy et al.,2021). Resilience practice can help.

The recommendations for practicing a resilient psychological threshold during the pandemic are applicable today for those in leadership. As other scholars have pointed out, according to Paltmitter et al., (2020), most people experience some stressor or adversity and that does not mean that one is not particlualry resilient, as the thoughts we think, the attitudes we bring to situations and the reactions we portray in response to demanding and ovewheliming situations are familiar to us all and can be trained, strenghthened and molded that adapt for the better when they occur again.

As stated, the days of Covid-19 patient surges may become a distant memory. Still, the daily stressors of patient care, staff management, organization frugality, and achieving healthcare benchmarks are a daily pressure coupled with the weight of standards and accreditation readiness; leaders are required to maintain an environment of service excellence, affordability, and teamwork. Creating a safe culture and the best place to work, all wrapped up in high-quality care, can be daunting for leaders tasked with stewardship of departments in healthcare.

As a close, the authors, according to Barthelemy et al. (2021), remind those in positions of influence to maintain an optimistic outlook despite overwhelming task competition and attention distractors, reappraise internal dialogue, lean into peer support and mentors, champion self-care activity, and capitalize on personal strengths.

References:

Barthelemy, E. J., Thango, N. S., Hohne, J., Lippa, L., Kolias, A., WFNS Young Neurosurgeons Forum Task Force, & Germano, I. M. (2021). Resilience in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic: How to bend and not break. World Neurosurgery. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wneu.2020.11.105

Palmitter, D., Alvord, M., Dorlen, R., Comas-Diaz, L., Luthar, S. S., Maddi, S. R., O’Neill, H. K., Saakvitne, K. W., & Tedeschi, R. G. (2020). Building your resilience. American Psychological Association. http://www.apa.org/resilience/building-your-resilience

Wei, H., Roberts, P., Strickler, J., & Corbett, R. W. (2019). Nurse leaders' strategies to Foster Nurse Resilience. Journal of Nursing Management, 27(4), 681–687. https://doi.org/10.1111/jonm.12736

Whelan, R. (1991). Self-reliance: The wisdom of Ralph Waldo Emerson as inspiration for Daily Living. Random House Inc.

Magnetic Influence

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What do the following characteristic traits of leaders who practice the following strategies look like who promote social work connections in there organizations, who possess a positive mindset, find the strengths in others, and capitalize on them, who empower and develop others, encourage self-care activities and work-life balance, perform mindfulness techniques and try to be present in the moment with staff, while seting an altruistic example to others? According to scholars with a focus on leadership, Wei et al. (2019) suggest that it is related to leader resilience. Two areas for immediate review are breaking down departmental barriers and maintaining a magnetic presence.

Break Out of the Silo

Apple TV currently has Season 2 series on its entertainment streaming service, Silo. The show that is in the not-so-near future is set in a post-nuclear time frame where, after a significant atomic fallout, the Earth has been devastated by nuclear war, and nothing is left on the surface. Set in what appears to be the United States, it is a scene of destruction; however, as the series begins, life as one would know it, unfolds in a habitat in the shape of what looks like an old nuclear missile silo, dug deep into the Earth's core with approximately more than two hundred stories of floors. The remaining survivors from the fallout are in various groups and classes of citizens. Those who perform the governement, civil services such as guardians and police, agriculture and farmers, mechanics, doctors and the like and as one would suspect multiple social classes to keep the "silo" up and running and to keep chaos at bay the poeple follow a code, if this is ever broken, people are sent out of the Silo to clean a window that peers into the devastated and barron landscape and enter the radioactive environment outside the Silo never to return and parish.

As the second season unfolds, the viewer is learning that other Silo's exist, and roughly ten thousand citizens are living in each one. However, the adventure gets even more exciting as survivors begin to understand that there are other silos with residents living unbeknownst to them, due to a major cover-up and secrecy from those appointed as legislators.

The key point for leaders is that when silos exist between departments, for example, in patient units and procedure areas, or between surgical service lines and critical care units, healthcare organizations experience a negative impact on the workplace environment, which in turn affects patient outcomes and workplace culture (Wei et al., 2018). Leaders must break down interdepartmental walls and build collaborative work relationships for staff and the patients they care for. Communication and bridge building are key through intentional interdepartmental rounding.

Positive Mindset

A saying in the US Marine Corps is, "If you don't mind, it doesn't matter." At the root of this mindset lies an optimistic outlook on any situation. Maintaining a positive attitude, despite the challenging conditions a Marine will encounter during training or on the battlefield, is a key element of military training for units. This is also true in the delivery of healthcare services, as mentioned in other essays; the environment is often volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. For more on the VUCA discussed in other posts, see here. Maintaining a positive mindset is challenging, but first, what does that mean to stay positive for a leader? We will consult William James for this insight.

In terms of mindset or mental life, as elements of psychology, the brain, as we know, is cerebral, and we know that when a thought occurs, typically there is an action to follow; whether or not it happens is arbitrary at this point. However, we will reframe the positive mindset in terms better suited to beliefs, attitudes, passions, attractions, judgment, behaviors, and conduct (Adler, 1952, p. 1). William James succinctly describes this idea by interpreting the attraction states of iron filings to a magnet and the physical properties of air bubbles rising to the top of a water jar, which realign with the atmosphere, all of which illustrate attraction and an element of positivity. The antithesis of positive is negative, and the elements therein apply. Maintaining a magnetic perspective or practicing an altruistic gravitas even in the face of overwhelming situations is paramount. The leader in the healthcare environment will always need to be the magnetism in their area of service, or they will suffer the consequences for their staff and patients, despite the various challenges that arise on a day-to-day basis in healthcare operations.

References:

Adler, Mortimer J. (1952). William James. In The Great Books of the Western World. (Vol. 53). Encyclopedia Britannica.

Wei, H., Roberts, P., Strickler, J., & Corbett, R. W. (2019). Nurse leaders' strategies to Foster Nurse Resilience. Journal of Nursing Management, 27(4), 681–687. https://doi.org/10.1111/jonm.12736

Know CPR? Know AED? Can do Marathon?

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In a paper published in the late spring of this year in the Journal of the American Medical Association, a title that captures a reader's attention, which is unusual in a medical journal, is "Cardiac Arrest During Long-Distance Running Races" (Kim et al., 2025). One element of the article explores ways in which first responder assistance can help participants in long-distance running events, specifically marathons and half-marathons, when they experience cardiac symptoms. It is hypothesized that more people might participate in running events if they knew that someone along the race course was trained in CPR, learned how to use an AED, and was familiar with activating the emergency medical system, for instance, more laypeople.

Interestingly, the number of people in the US participating in some race events has increased significantly, with approximately 30 million men and women signing up for these events over the past few decades. This trend has actually tripled since the turn of the century, particularly since 2010 (Kim et al., 2025). The primary cardiac risk factors for the small percentage of participants who experienced a cardiac event were relatively low, at 0.60 per 100,000 participants. Of those cardiac events, the main culprit was coronary artery disease, and it is still the number one killer of US adults (Kim et al., 2025; CDC, 2021). As noted, the paper addresses elements of marathon racing and preparation for medical care. Who knows if individuals with cardiac risk factors, those seeking to adopt a healthy lifestyle, and those more likely to be running enthusiasts would sign up for races if it were known that more people were trained in CPR and AED application?

References:

Kim, J. H., Rim, A. J., Miller, J. T., Jackson, M., Patel, N., Rajesh, S., Ko, Y.-A., DiGregorio, H., Chiampas, G., McGillivray, D., Holder, J., & Baggish, A. L. (2025). Cardiac arrest during long-distance running races. JAMA, 333(19), 1699. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2025.3026

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021). FastStats - Leading Causes of Death. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/leading-causes-of-death.htm

The Dray-Horse

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Suppose a man is to preserve his natural ability and qualities, according to the discourses in Plato's works. In that case, a man will be given plenty of opportunity to go through struggles, pains, and difficulties, and this should be the prescription for testing what lies in his constitution (Adler, 1952b, p. 340). There are parallels to testing the grittiness of a man that the 19th-century psychologist, William James, points to as well, when he mentions a philosophical idea that every man has been endowed and set with the strength of the dray horse (Adler, 1952a, p. 202). One might recall an example of a dray-horse being that sort of animal not bred for racing or swift feet within the cavalry, but that sort of massive build proper for hauling, towing, and pulling heavy loads-does not the Clydesdale come to mind?

Every television, for decades during the fall season, can recall the wintry image of snow in the background, and the sound of sleigh bells ringing as the great horses pull with the cadence of rhythm and step. This all-too-familiar Budweiser sleigh displays the beauty of its strength. Strength is an element that a man possesses. Consider how to feed that sort of strength best?

In Book III of Plato's Republic, discourses on guardians capture the reader's mind, which possess elements of a warrior. Interestingly, a reader would find what diet best suits the warrior on the campaign trail. The shocktroop would not bother themselves on the campaign trail and during deployment with cumbersome pots and pans. Instead, the elements of a soldier's meal are to begin with a fire, and the most nourishing food is roasted game (Adler, 1952b, p. 335).

According to the dialogue, Adler, p. 330-331 (1952b) the qualities of guardians which had been imitated since youth and extend into mature life, are self-belief, guts, a level head, reverent piety, and the commitment to ensure a society of free people while refraining as much as one can from baseness and drunkeness. Aren't the high ideals for every man to strive for and realise elements of a good society?

Isn't it true enough, to mimic the discussion in Plato's works, that the duty of those guardians, which every person can adopt, is to possess and have the most significant interest for the good of their own neighborhood, cities, and places of industry, for the betterment of all, and to renounce the opposite. Perhaps only when a person purges his inner being, lets go of some former alternative fact, and gains a better understanding, are they realized (Adler, 1952b, p. 339), and if possessing the magnitude of a dray-horse can bring about such change.

References:

Adler, Mortimer J. (1952a). William James. In The Great Books of the Western World. (Vol. 53). Encyclopedia Britannica.

Adler, Mortimer J. (1952b). Plato. In The Great Books of the Western World. (Vol. 7). Encyclopedia Britannica.

Preserve the Mean

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Is the following true? A good or strong man may have many faults, weaknesses, or flaws, often due to the misuse or misplacement of his strengths. An idea that Aristotle addressed thousands of years ago. More pointedly, in his essays in Ethics, to correlate terms with weakness, he uses defects of character or absence of virtue in which men possess many (Adler, 1952a, p. 352), but Aristotelian thought speaks of behaving in the middle ground.

We can understand in layperson's terms, for example, from basic arithmetic, the definition of mean, or better yet, the mean is the mathematical average (Polit, 2010). Now, to behave and live in such a way that aligns with Aristotelian concepts, is to find the average. For example, the mean of fear and confidence is courage. If we are to be in excess fear, we are on the high end of cowardice, and if we are on the excess of fearlessness, we are on the verge of recklessness; therefore, the mean is courage (Adler, 1952a, pp. 352-353).

Let us look at other correlates from the great thinker. The mean of bashfulness and shamelessness is modesty, the middle of the road or average of flattery and blame is being of praiseworthiness, and the average of pleasure and pain is temperance. In contrast, in terms of philanthropy, the mean of greed and generosity is benevolence. Aristotle even addresses the concepts of hunger and starvation, and exercise in excess and too little, all of which affect and promote health or illness in the body. An idea that most in the practice of medicine would agree with. Not too much food intake and not too little, and not too much exercise or not too little.

In a day and age where influence and distraction aim at our attention, are the maxims and sayings from the wisdom of the ancients relevant today? Perhaps, we should consider and meditate on such things, if not then we will need to address the question that Machievelli submitted, borrowing from the editors of the great philosophers tells us in the synopticon, under the heading of Honor, Adler (1952b, p. 734), referring to the ideas of Machiavelli who would sound the bell and search for who is the man that will be great among us: will he strive to be a pioneer or settle for being a puppet? Better yet, and higher than philosophical insight, the Christian man is advised in the sayings of Solomon not to be too wise or righteous, nor too wicked and foolish (The Holy Bible, New International Version, 1999, Ecclesiastes 7:16-18). If we circle back to Aristotelian thoughts once more and look at a concept he proposed during his time, should we heed the insight of: preserving the mean (Adler, 1952a, p. 349).

References:

Adler, M. J. (1952a). Aristotle: II. In The Great Books of the Western World. (Vol. 9). Encyclopedia Britannica.

Adler, M. J. (1952b). The Great Ideas: I. In The Great Books of the Western World. (Vol. 2) Encyclopedia Britannica.

The Holy Bible. New International Version, Cornerstone Bible Publishers, 1999.

Polit, D. F. (2010). Statistics and data analysis for nursing research (2nd ed.). Pearson. 

Does Opinion Matter?

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Montaigne, in his second essay, suggests that the person whom people believe to be great—one who performs good deeds and acts in ways that draw attention to himself—should not be expected to provide genuine help or service. This type of individual may engage in charitable actions or show goodwill towards others primarily for the sake of appearing virtuous. Generally, such a person is unlikely to lend a hand or assist others if there is no opportunity for personal reputation, honor, or glory to be gained (Adler, 1952a, p. 303).

As the composer of the blog of Palate and Pabulum, oftentimes, the recognition of a job well done came about from the circumstances and perceptions of others in the hospital setting. Where no other person was aware, but through helping others, and in the perception of a thoughtful patient, thinking it worthwhile to acknowledge, for instance, in execellent service rendered, ran it up the chain of command so to speak to demonstrate their gratitude for a job well done, unbeknown to the author of this blog at the time of the service. Although we are recognized for excellent service, is that why we do the things we do? Is it because we deep down inside need to be acknowledged or feel significant in this world?

This question has been the subject of great discussion since ancient times. The patriarhcs of our world, wrestled with it, exploring topics such as honor, praise, virtue, and the like, and even daring to say that theological circles have much to say, in general, according to Soutwick et al. (2023), great philosophical ideas and religious conversations have taken place for over two millennia to discuss other aspects such as right and wrong elements of morality.

The sole belief that we are all self-centered, according to Erickson (2013, p. 563), does not help the case of humanity, if one believes that we are inately corrupt. At the bare bones of our existence, all people will try to put their best foot forward, trying to cover up blemishes, shortcomings, and weaknesses, and striving to grasp for ourselves and secure those objectives without a care for the next person, who, at the same time, is trying to procure and meet their selfish desire.

William James, the renowned twentieth-century philosopher, acknowledges the same when he addresses the concept of self, strictly speaking, of the social self, or the fact that all people are social creatures, and such constitutes the acknowledgment that a person gets from being a social creature (Adler, 1952b, p. 189). In his essay on The Consciousness of Self, William James states that as a higher-level thinking animal, we have this instinct to get ourselves noticed by other people. Further, this instinct, as a need, must be met; we crave the popular opinion of others.

References:

Adler, Mortimer J. (1952a). The Essays of Michel Eyquem de Montaigne. In The Great Books of the Western World. (Vol. 25). Encyclopedia Britannica.

Adler, Mortimer J. (1952b). William James. In The Great Books of the Western World. (Vol. 53). Encyclopedia Britannica.

Erickson, M. J. (2013). Christian theology (3rd ed.). Baker.

Southwick, S. M., Charney, D. S., & DePierro, J. M. (2023). Resilience: The science of mastering life's most significant challenges. Cambridge University Press.